Sidney S. Riggs
- Missing Since 03/04/2000
- Missing From Greenwood, South Carolina
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Male
- Race White
- Date of Birth 06/25/1977 (45)
- Age 22 years old
- Height and Weight 5'9, 155 pounds
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Riggs was last seen in Greenwood, South Carolina on March 4, 2000. He was a senior accounting major at Lander University at the time with plans to graduate that year. He disappeared right before spring break. His mother reported him as a missing person about a week later.One of his associates said Riggs had spoken of plans to travel to Florida, but this has not been confirmed. Riggs has never been heard from again.
Riggs's off-campus apartment was left undisturbed and there was no evidence that a struggle had taken place there. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are unclear and his case remains unsolved.
Call them unsolved crimes or “cold cases.” Greenwood County law enforcement officials say they won’t stop investigating until such seemingly dead-end cases are solved.
Whether the case remains unsolved for months or years, investigators continue searching for clues that will bring closure to long-term investigations.
“The only time we feel good about closing a case is when it is solved,” Greenwood Police Chief Gerald Brooks said.
Brooks said a case might be declared inactive but, in a community this size, those cases generally are never retired.
One such case has been active for a little more than five years.
The last time Lander University student Sidney Riggs, then 22, was seen was by mother Sharon Harman just before spring break, on March 4, 2000.
Riggs was a senior accounting major with plans to graduate in 2000.
According to published reports, Riggs was reported missing after he had not been to class.
Investigators said his off-campus apartment was intact and there were no signs of a struggle.
“We have exhausted all of our leads in that case,” Brooks said. “We’ve reached a point — try as we might — we were unable to reach new leads.”
Brooks said sometimes investigators will go several months without a new lead and then, all of a sudden, they’ll get one and start pursuing it.
The Riggs case was reviewed with Riggs’ family, a private attorney and a private investigator.
“We were open and receptive to suggestions they might have. We revisit the case on a very regular basis,” Brooks said.
Every 90 days, investigators working on the Riggs case and other unsolved cases “diary” them.
They document interviews and other information involved with a particular case.
Brooks said that, perhaps in time, people they’ve previously talked to will remember something or have heard something new.
In a case that remains inactive for any length of time, Brooks said, there’s always a chance to revisit.
New technology, such DNA or other forensic advances, could help a case that’s been inactive for years, Brooks said.
The Riggs case is assigned to one detective, but the investigation is a team effort, with multiple officers assisting in the case.
The department has enlisted other agencies to look at the information regarding the Riggs case in order to have “a fresh set of eyes,” the chief said.
Sidney's grandmothers obituary mentions his disappearance.
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